A. For any
school that has been assigned a letter grade of D or F pursuant to section 15‑241
for at least two out of three consecutive years and that has been assigned a
letter grade of D or F at the time the petition is submitted, the parents or
legal guardians of pupils attending that school and parents or guardians of
pupils attending a school that feeds into that school may submit a petition to
the school district governing board to request that the governing board take
one of the following actions recommended by those parents:

1. Implement
the Turnaround model, by taking the following actions:

(a) Replacing the school principal
with a new principal who shall be granted sufficient operational flexibility,
including flexibility over staffing, calendars, the length of the school day
and budgeting, to fully implement a comprehensive approach to substantially
improve pupil achievement outcomes, and if the school is a high school, to
increase high school graduation rates.

(b) Using locally adopted
competencies to measure the effectiveness of staff who can work within the
turnaround environment to meet the needs of pupils by taking the following
actions:

(i) Conducting an immediate review
of all existing staff that results in the retention of no more than fifty per
cent of the existing staff.

(ii) Selecting new staff.

(c) Implementing strategies such as
financial incentives, increased opportunities for promotion and career growth
and flexible work conditions that are designed to recruit, place and retain
staff with the skills necessary to meet the needs of the pupils in the turnaround school.

(d) Providing staff with ongoing,
high‑quality, job-embedded professional development that is aligned with
the school's comprehensive instructional program and that is designed in
cooperation with school staff to ensure that staff are equipped to facilitate
effective teaching and learning and with the capacity to successfully implement
school reform strategies.

(e) Adopting a new governance
structure, which may include requiring the school to report to a new turnaround
office within the school district or the department of education, hire a
turnaround leader who reports directly to the Superintendent of the school
district or enter into a multiyear contract with the school district or the
department of education to obtain added flexibility in exchange for greater
accountability.

(f) Using data to identify and
implement an instructional program that is research-based and vertically
aligned from one grade to the next and that is aligned with state academic
standards.

(g) Promoting the continuous use of
pupil data, such as formative, interim and summative assessments, to inform and
differentiate instruction in order to meet the academic needs of individual
pupils by both:

(ii) Providing appropriate social
services, emotional services and community-oriented services and support for
pupils.

(h) Optionally implementing other
strategies such as any of the following:

(i) Any of the required and
permissible activities under the transformation model prescribed in this
section.

(ii) Implementing a new school model
such as a themed school or a dual language academy.

2. Implement
the restart model, by converting the school to a charter school or closing and
reopening the school under a charter school operator, a charter management
organization or an education management organization that has been selected through
a rigorous review process. A school that implements a restart model
shall enroll, within the grades it serves, any former pupil who was previously
enrolled at the school and who wishes to attend the new charter school. For
the purposes of this paragraph:

3. Implement
the Transformation model, by implementing the following strategies:

(a) Taking the following Required
actions:

(i) Replacing the existing
principal.

(ii) Using rigorous, transparent and
equitable evaluation systems for teachers and principals that Are designed and
developed with teacher and principal involvement and that Take into account
data on pupil growth as a significant factor as well as other factors such as
multiple observation‑based assessments of performance, ongoing
collections of professional practice reflective of pupil achievement and, if
the school is a high school, increased high school graduation rates.

(iii) Identifying and rewarding school
leaders, teachers and other staff who, in implementing this model, have
increased pupil achievement and high school graduation rates and identifying
and removing school leaders, teachers and other staff who, after ample
opportunities have been provided to improve, have failed to demonstrate
improvement.

(iv) Providing staff with ongoing,
high-quality, job-embedded professional development, such as subject-specific
pedagogy, instruction that reflects a deeper understanding of the community
served by the school or differentiated instruction, that is aligned with the
school's comprehensive instructional program, that is designed with school
staff to ensure staff are equipped to facilitate effective teaching and
learning and that has the capacity to successfully implement school reform
strategies.

(v) Implementing strategies such as
financial incentives, increased opportunities for promotion and career growth
and more flexible work conditions that are designed to recruit, place and
retain staff with the skills necessary to meet the needs of the pupils enrolled
at the school.

(vi) Using data to identify and
implement an instructional program that is research-based and vertically
aligned from one grade to the next and that is aligned with state academic
standards.

(vii) Promoting the continuous use of
pupil data, such as from formative, interim and summative assessments, to
inform and differentiate instruction in order to meet the academic needs of
individual pupils.

(viii) Giving the school sufficient
operational flexibility, including flexibility over staffing, calendars, the
length of the school day and budgeting, to implement a comprehensive approach
to substantially improve pupil achievement outcomes and, if the school is a
high school, to increase high school graduation rates.

(ix) Ensuring that the school
receives ongoing, intensive technical assistance and related support from the
school district, the department of education or a designated external
organization.

(b) Taking the following optional
actions:

(i) Providing additional
compensation to attract and retain staff with the skills necessary to meet the
needs of pupils.

(ii) Instituting a system for
measuring changes in instructional practices resulting from professional
development.

(iii) Ensuring that the school is not
required to accept a teacher without the mutual consent of the teacher and
principal, regardless of the teacher's seniority.

(iv) Conducting periodic reviews to
ensure that the curriculum is being implemented with fidelity, is having the
intended impact on pupil achievement and is modified if ineffective.

(v) Implementing a schoolwide
response-to-intervention model.

(vi) Providing additional supports
and professional development to teachers and principals in order to implement
effective strategies to support pupils with disabilities in the least
restrictive environment and to ensure that limited English proficient pupils
acquire language skills to master academic content.

(vii) Using and integrating technology
based supports and interventions as part of the instructional program.

(viii) If the school is a high school,
Increasing rigor by offering opportunities for pupils to enroll in advanced
coursework, such as Advanced Placement courses, International Baccalaureate
programs, science courses, technology courses, engineering courses, mathematics
courses, schools that offer grand canyon diplomas, dual enrollment programs
thematic learning academies that prepare pupils for college and careers.

(ix) If the school is a high school,
Improving pupil transition from junior high school or middle school to high
school through summer transition programs or freshman academies, smaller
learning communities, competency‑based instruction, performance-based
assessments and acceleration of basic reading and mathematics skills.

(x) If the school is a high school,
Establishing early-warning systems to identify pupils who may be at risk of
failing to achieve high standards or to graduate from high school.

(xi) If the school is a high school,
increasing learning time and creating community-oriented schools, Establishing
schedules and implementing strategies that provide increased learning time.

(xii) If the school is a high school,
providing ongoing mechanisms for family and community engagement.

(xiii) Partnering with parents and
parent organizations, faith-based and community-based organizations, health
clinics, other state or local agencies and other entities to create safe school
environments that meet the social, emotional and health needs of pupils.

(xiv) Extending or restructuring the
school day to add time for strategies such as advisory periods that build
relationships between pupils, faculty and other school staff.

(xv) Implementing approaches to
improve school climate and discipline, such as implementing a system of
positive behavioral supports or taking steps to eliminate bullying and pupil
harassment.

(xvi) If the school is an elementary
school, expanding the school program to offer full-day kindergarten programs or
pre-kindergarten programs.

(xvii) Allowing the school to be run
under a new governance arrangement, such as a turnaround division within the
school district or the department of education.

(xviii) Implementing a per pupil
school-based budget formula that is weighted based on pupil needs.

B. This
section does not apply to an existing school that the school district has
scheduled for closure.

C. A
petition shall not be submitted pursuant to this section to the school district
governing board for any school until the parents of more than fifty per cent of
the pupils enrolled at the school have signed the petition. After
the school district governing board receives the petitions, the school district
shall have no more than forty-five calendar days to review, count and verify
the signatures. The school district must initially attempt to verify all
signatures by comparing the petitions to existing signatures of parents that
are on file with the school district, and may contact a parent about a
signature only if a perceived discrepancy in signatures is found. If
sufficient discrepancies exist to reduce the number of parental signatures
below fifty per cent of the pupils enrolled at the school, the petitioners
shall have an additional thirty calendar days to attempt to obtain valid signatures
from the parents of more than fifty per cent of the pupils enrolled at the
school. The school district shall not discard a signature for technical
reasons if the clear intent of the parent was to support the petition.

D. If the
petitioning parents select conversion to a charter school under the Restart
Model, the parents may select a specific, existing charter school operator by
including the operator's name on the petition and circulating the petition
together with the completed charter application for the school. The
petitioning Parents may also decline to select a specific operator at the time
of submitting the petition and may choose to select the operator after the
petition is submitted to the school district within ninety calendar days after
the petition is certified by the school district. In order to implement the
charter school conversion option under the Restart Model:

1. The
charter school application must be approved by the appropriate authorizing
body. The charter application shall be treated in the same manner for appeals
purposes under the law as any other charter school application.

2. The
charter school must be operated as a nonprofit school and shall be subject to
state and federal laws governing nonprofit organizations.

3. The
operator selected must be operating other charter schools in this state, and
the average of all the letter grades assigned pursuant to section 15-241 to the
charter schools operated by that operator shall be at least a letter grade of
B, unless an exception from the requirements of this paragraph is provided to
that operator by the Superintendent of public instruction.

E. After the
school district has verified that the parents of a majority of the pupils
enrolled at the school have signed a petition submitted pursuant to this
section, the school district governing board shall reach a decision on the
final disposition of the petition within thirty calendar days.

F. Unless
the petitioners explicitly request otherwise, the school district shall plan
the conversion or transformation and shall implement the plan for the first day
of school of the school year beginning in the next calendar year.

G. If the
school district approves a parent petition to convert the school into a charter
school, any parents who do not want their child to attend that charter school
may enroll the child in another school operated by that school district.

H. A charter
school that is established pursuant to this section is subject to the laws in
this state as other charter schools. Parents petitioning to establish a
charter school pursuant to this section do not need to ACQUIRE signatures on
the petition from any person or entity other than from parents of pupils who
are enrolled at the school.

I. Any
school that implements any one of the intervention models, including conversion
to a charter school, must continue to serve the pupils who reside in the entire
attendance boundary of that school, must continue to serve all pupils who
attended the school in the year before the transformation and must continue to
allow pupils who live outside the attendance boundary of the school to enroll
in the school if sufficient capacity exists.

J. The
school district shall implement the specific intervention model that parents
request in the petition unless the school district governing board adopts a
written resolution at a public meeting called for this purpose that states the
reason or reasons that the school district has determined that it is
logistically impossible to implement that specific option. If the school
district determines that it is logistically impossible to implement the
requested option, the school district governing board shall state which of the
other intervention models described in this section will be implemented within
the time prescribed in this section.

K. If a
school district determines that it is logistically impossible to implement the
specific option requested by petitioning parents and instead designates a
different option, the petitioning parents may file an expedited appeal to the
superintendent of public instruction to determine whether or not the parents'
request is logistically possible. The school district governing board shall
defend the option selected by the school district. The superintendent of
public instruction shall provide guidelines for the appointment of a qualified
attorney to represent the petitioning parents during the appeals process.

L. After a
school has been reorganized pursuant to this section, no petition may be
submitted to reorganize that school pursuant to this section for at least two
years after the school year in which the reorganization takes place.

M. A school
district and employees of the school district shall not harass, threaten or
intimidate parents during the petition circulation process and shall not
discourage a parent from signing a petition or encourage a parent to revoke a
signature on the petition.

N. A School
or a school district shall not allow school or district resources to be used to
support or oppose any efforts by parents who are attempting to circulate a
petition pursuant to this section.

O. Parents
who submit a petition pursuant to this section shall also submit a notarized
letter certifying that the parents have attempted to address concerns through
alternative means, such as discussions with the school principal or school
district administrators.

P. Any
school that implements the restart model pursuant to this section shall lease
the school site from the school district. The annual rent under the lease
shall not exceed fifty per cent of the total additional assistance distributed
to the charter school pursuant to section 15‑185, subsection C for that
fiscal year. The school district shall retain ownership of the
physical plant, but the property shall be held in conservatorship by the School
Facilities Board to facilitate the lease terms.

Q. The school district governing board:

1. Shall
notify the superintendent of public instruction and the department of education
on receipt of a parental petition under this section and of the school
district's final disposition of that petition.

2. Is not
required to implement the option requested by the parental petition if the
request is for reasons other than improving academic achievement or pupil
safety. Any denial of a petition on these grounds is subject to an expedited
appeal to the superintendent of public instruction by the petitioning parents.

3. Shall
include plans to demonstrate that an alternative governance option has
substantial promise of enabling the school to make adequate pupil achievement
growth consistent with state standards If the school district adopts a written
resolution that the school district will implement an alternative governance
arrangement other than that requested by the petitioning parents and if the
petitioning parents do not file a timely appeal of this decision.

R. Within
one hundred twenty days after the effective date of this section, the state
board of education shall adopt rules to carry out the purposes of this section,
including:

1. The
petition format and submission process.

2. The
appeals procedure for petitioning parents who wish to appeal the decision of
the school district governing board to implement an alternative governance
arrangement other than that requested by the petitioning parents.

3. The
selection of the charter operator in circumstances where a charter school is
established pursuant to this section.

S. The
department of education shall maintain records regarding the contents of and
outcomes from parental petitions in order to ensure appropriate implementation
of this section and to address concerns identified through administrative
procedures conducted pursuant to this section.

T. The
superintendent of public instruction shall preside over appeals filed by petitioning
parents under this section and shall issue the superintendent's determination
in writing. END_STATUTE